Theology: Writing & Citing
Help with Citing
If you follow a citation style correctly, you will avoid plagiarism and help your reader find your information sources.
The Theology program has its own Style Guide for Chicago A (footnotes):
For complex biblical citations:
The SBL Handbook of Style by ISBN: 9781589839656Publication Date: 2014-11-20The definitive source for how to write and publish in the field of biblical studies The long-awaited second edition of the essential style manual for writing and publishing in biblical studies and related fields includes key style changes, updated and expanded abbreviation and spelling-sample lists, a list of archaeological site names, material on qur'anic sources, detailed information on citing electronic sources, and expanded guidelines for the transliteration and transcription of seventeen ancient languages. Features: Expanded lists of abbreviations for use in ancient Near Eastern, biblical, and early Christian studies Information for transliterating seventeen ancient languages Exhaustive examples for citing print and electronic sources
For general Chicago referencing style help, please see these two resources:
The Chicago Manual of StyleOnline or in the Library
Central Library: Z253.CH32. 2017
Robertson Library: 808.0270973 CHI 2017
Computer Fonts
Māori Font
Te Reo (at Otago)
Biblical Fonts
Society of Biblical Literature
Downloadable fonts for biblical Greek and Hebrew, as well as 'BibLit" which combines Greek, Hebrew & Latin Characters, including transliteration diacritics.
More information and help with installation and use can be found here.
Theology Specific Writing Guides
The Religion and Theology Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide by ISBN: 9781538100943Publication Date: 2017-11-02The Religion Student Writer's Manual and Reader's Guide, is a set of instructions and exercises that sequentially develop citizenship, academic, and professional skills while providing students with knowledge about a wide range of religious concepts, phenomena, and information sources. Part 1 begins by teaching students about reading and writing in introductory religion. It focuses on the crafts of writing and scholarship by providing the basics of grammar, style, formats and source citation, and then introduces students to a variety of rich information resources including the religious journals and the Library of Congress. Part 2 prepares students to research, read, write, review, and critique religious scholarship. Finally, Part 3 provides for the practice of religious scholarship in advanced courses such as the history of religion and contemporary approaches to the study of religion.
Writing Theology WellA working guide for students conducting theological writing and research on theology and biblical studies courses, this book integrates the disciplines of writing, rhetoric, and theology, to provide a standard text for the teaching and mentoring of writing across the theological curriculum.As a theological rhetoric, it also encourages excellence in theological writing in the public domain by helping to equip students for their wider vocations as writers, preachers, and communicators in a variety of ministerial and professional contexts.
Referencing Management Software
There is software available to help you to keep track of all of the information that you find and ensure that your citations are formatted correctly
Managing Your References - Introduction (Citation Library)
Know which reference manager you are looking for? Use the following links to quickly navigate to their tabs in this guide:
EndNote is software used to manage bibliographic citations. It can be used to organise references, cite them in papers, and automatically generate bibliographies - in the citation style of your choice.
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, cite, and share your research sources. It lives right where you do your work—in the web browser itself.
Mendeley is a free reference manager that can help you store, organize, note, share and cite references and research data.
- Endnote 20
Helpful links on Sharing a Library versus Sharing a Group & EndNote Chat